Of course, my above comment was simply an observation. If we can't get the Indonesians to accept that they have a joint responsibility, and provide accordingly and if Malaysia's position remains as it is (vis a vis the UN Refugee Convention), then given the 'push' factor in all of this, we may just have to accept on-shore processing and be brave about it. Afterall the Europeans and the the US have far greater problems and burdens in these matters than we do. It is a reflection of the times, globally speaking. This is another world-wide mass transmigration of historical proportions which will change the demographic landscape for all time - or lead to such a reaction that the holocaust will look like child's play. Don't discount the possibility. Hence the enormous responsibility on countries like ours in handling these issues to be aware that what we do may have quite different but equally difficult downsides. We don't want to fall between the two. We can't reform bad countries so the push factor will be with us for all time.

Why don't we look at the reasons why people
are fleeing their homelands and see what we can
do to help fix those problems or whether we want
to fix those problems.

We're told that
many Tamils flee Sri-Lanka because of the fear
of persecution. Why not see if this problem can
be fixed? We're told that many Iraqis and Afghanis
also are fleeing their homelands for fear of
death. Yet our soldiers are there some are giving
their lives to improve the people's lot. Yet we're
not too keen to welcome these people into our country
while we help destroy and ravage their homeland.

The whole business
is crazy. We as a nation have to decide just exactly
what we want, where we stand on this issue, and whether
we want to be a part of the solution or continue to
be a part of the problem. And we should elect our
politicians accordingly. This has gone on for long enough.
Australia must decide what it really wants - and cut out
the BS. We don't want you here - but we're concerned
about your safety on humanitarian ground. What nonsense.

@jimoctec

<<we can somehow de-politicise the Department of Immigration which fulfills its political role by pretending to process refugee applications but actively works to deny visas to those coming from "the wrong" countries... like... Hazaras...Tamils... Karens or Rohingya>>

ROFL

You are joking surely, jimoctec?

The ones you have listed are precisely the *right* countries/identities (to claim) if you want an easy passage into OZ.

That is why all opportunists (aka asylum seekers) strive hard to rebadge themselves as one of the aforementioned on your top-of-the-pops list.

Yup, Lexi you are right.

What we need is world peace. Juliar will appoint a committee and get right on it.

While a political refugee can get into trouble in almost any sort of society, Malthusian trap societies are the main reason for the refugee crisis. Before about a hundred years ago, all societies were like this, and many still are. In such societies, people outbreed their resources and overexploit their environment, so that living standards deteriorate, finally stabilising under conditions of grinding poverty and oppression, where deaths are in balance with births. Any improvements due to new crops or new technologies, such as we saw with the Green Revolution, are short-lived, because they just lead to more and more mouths to eat up any surplus and restore the accustomed level of misery. In his 'A Farewell to Alms', economic historian Gregory Clarke makes the point that the palace at Versailles and other extravagances of the French aristocracy cost the peasants nothing - without them, there would have simply been more hungry, miserable peasants.

When there is no strong central government to stop them, people try to drive off or kill their neighbours to take what they have. Ethnicity and religion make good rallying points when people are joining up sides, but there are plenty of other excuses. The last issue of Discover has a map in an article by Prof. E. O. Wilson that shows archaeologists' estimates of continuing death rates due to tribal warfare in past societies. 20% and 30% rates were common, and one was as high as 46%. By comparison, our bloody 20th century was less than 3%. Books on this by archaeologists, such as "Constant Battles" by Prof. Steven LeBlanc and "War Before Civilization" by Prof. Lawrence Keeley are full of accounts of massacres, headless bodies, projectile points in skeletons, healed parry fractures, execution style killings of children, collections of trophy skulls, etc., etc.

(cont'd)

Smugglers are not putting anyone on boats, Bruce you should know better. It is the right of the refugees to do what they can to be safe and it's not like we bothered to even try and rescue people for 41 hours after the may day went out.

Tony Wright is now reporting that smugglers are bringing Tamils to Cocos Island even though records in DIAC show that no Tamils have done any such thing, they simply sail themselves.

How about we stop dictating to the neighbours and acting like colonial spivs. and accept our own laws?

I think Peter Van Onselen has the best break down of the lies and spivving I have read to date, it should be mandatory reading so we stop this crap right now.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/iraq-parliament-deported-nationals-europe

Europe has again been stopped from it's own brutal practices, in recent times they have been stopped from forcing asylum seekers to places like Greece and told to do it in Britain when people apply. Ireland, Belgium and the entire EU tried it on and got knocked back so why is it whiney Australia thinks we can do things on our own.

The conventions and laws are binding contracts between us and 147 other nations and the UNHCR and while not perfect it has saved tens of millions of lives over the 6 decades of it's existence.

I wonder though when our whinging media and politicians are going to wonder out loud ""what if the neighbours demand we do it all here"" and send us their 8 million refugees.

What would or could our media cretins and others do then?

Recriprocity seems to be missing though as we pretend we whitey's own the neighbourhood.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/australian-politicians-are-adrift-on-a-sea-of-hypocrisy-writes-peter-van-onselen/story-e6frezz0-1226413146824

The last few sentences are worthy of printing out and putting on the fridge.